Tuesday 11 June 2013

Sources are Important

Following is an example of different sources giving different information.

The first is from the National Archives of Australia web site and the second from a figure from a presentation in 2005.

National Archives of Australia
Darwin Office
CRS F315/0
Item 1949/393A Part 2 (Digital Copy)


Napperby Station
There were no half-caste children on Napperby at the time of our
visit. However, the two who were located there last year are still
camping away from the station, their mother having apparently got
wind of our intentions to move them. It will require a special
patrol to apprehend them but, in view of the fact that the school
year is now half-way through and that St Mary's Hostel is close
to saturation point with the existing staff, I recommend that it be
left until next January to send out and pick them up. There are
two of them - one boy, Texas, aged approximately 7 years .......
..........., and one girl, Lily, aged approximately 5 years and ..
....................of Coniston station. Their mother originally
came from Gordon Downs.

(............... = text removed.)

IUSSP XXVth International Population Conference
Session 1009 Demography, Human Rights and Ethics
Tours, France 20 July 2005
Blankets, Brass Tags and Bungalows: The Role of Population Data Systems in
Historical Aboriginal Affairs in Northern Territory, Australia (Draft)
Ellen Percy Kraly, Department of Geography, Colgate University

Figure 14 (cont) Further examples
(NAA F315 Item 49/393A)


Napperby Station
Half-castes There were no half-caste children on Napperby
at the time of our visit. However, the two who were located there
last year are still camping away from the station, their mother
having apparently got wind of our intentions to move them. It
will require a special patrol to apprehend then but, in view of
the fact that the school year is now half-way through and that
St Mary's Hostel is close to saturation point with the existing
staff, I recommend that it be left until next January to send
out and pick them up. There are two of them - one boy, Texas,
aged approximately 7 years and whose father is alleged to be a
Mr Dixon, and one girl, Lily, aged approximately 5 years and
whose father is alleged to be Mick Kelly of Coniston Station.
Their mother originally came from Gordon Downs.


It pays to keep looking.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Paul, Just curious as to what is going on here. Has the National Archives version deliberately removed the names of the alleged fathers? So it's OK to name Aboriginal women and children but not the purported (white) fathers? Al.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gives that impression sometimes.

    ReplyDelete